Understanding Single Choice Survey Answer Types

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Understanding Single Choice Survey Answer Types

By Steven Ray
2006-10-19

Understanding Single Choice Survey Answer Types

Using surveys to gather data is nothing new. The benefits of surveys have long been documented and as more and more people realise the potential of this research method you find that its use is increasing exponentially. With the use of online survey software, researchers, students, teachers, businesses etc are able to gather their required data in record time. Data analysis is also much faster and a survey that once took days or weeks even can be completed in a matter of minutes.

The Single Choice Scenario
A common problem that arises with creating surveys is a lack of understanding of the different answer types, one of these being single choice questions. Though seemingly straightforward there are many occassions when you will find surveys being created using checkboxes for single choice questions. Here is a basic example. Someone creates a survey and has a question such as:

Which age group do you fall into?
18-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
Older than 55.

Here the question is structured correctly however it is in choosing the answer type that many people fall into the trap that can produce invalid data. For a question such as this there should be only one group that a person's age can fall into, hence the user should only be able to choose one answer (Single Choice). There are two popular options for single choice answer types, radio buttons and drop down menus.

A radio button is a programmed option selector that allows users to select only one answer. If they try to select another the previously selected option clears and then the new choice becomes selected. Choosing an answer type based on radio buttons would be an effective way of presenting this question.

Another option that could be used would be a drop down menu. Drop down menus, also, restrict users to making only one selection as any new selection clears the previous selection and becomes the selected item.

Radio for help
The common mistake made for this type of question, as mentioned above, is choosing an answer type that utilizes checkboxes. Checkboxes, though appearing to flow with such a question, enable users to select more than one option which if they chose to do so would make their response to that question invalid.

Now you know
When creating your surveys it is vital that you have a clear understanding of the different answer types that you are able to use and how to use them effectively. SurvSoft.com an Online Survey Software displays a graphical sample of each answer type available to guide users towards making the correct answer type selection.

Article Pages:
» Understanding Single Choice Survey Answer Types

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